Our Soggy Alone Place
by MeltedIceAngel
Summary: Tuffnut brings his niece to his and Ruffnut's special alone place where they spent most of their days as children.


**Ruff and Tuff will seem very OOC in this story, but it is explained throughout. I love these two characters more than any of them because they are basically my brother and I. We always beat the shit out of each other, yet we're tied at the hip and still love each other. **

**Disclaimer: So yeah, don't own HTTYD no matter how much I wish I did -_-'**

**Warnings: MAJOR SPOILERS for Dragons: Defenders of Berk ep. Free Scauldy and harsh language at some points.**

"Come on, Eira. I have something I want to show you." Twenty three year old Tuffnut said, grasping his small niece's hand in his own. The blonde twin had promised the five year old a walk in the forest, just the two of them, to make up the lost time between the two while Tuff fought with the other dragon riders against the looming threat of the Beserkers.

Even after nearly eight years of fighting between them, Dagur had not backed down. Neither had the citizens of Berk of course, and the six dragon riders new that the fight was still in it's early stages. The young adults had years to live, which meant years of battling for control of what was theirs.

The blonde looked down at his niece, the little girl adorning a hair color matching both her mother and uncle, tied up in braided pigtails falling to the middle of her back. Her thin cheeks were spotted with barely noticeable freckles, inherited from her father. In fact, the soft spots littering her face were the only noticeable thing taken from the girl's father, everything else resembled Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and their mother. For that, Tuffnut was pleased. He didn't want the little girl to be cursed with the looks of the man that had broken her mother's heart, left her when she needed him most, and wanted nothing to do with the miracle he had helped to create.

* * *

_"Tuffnut...?" Ruffnut said hesitantly, opening the door to her twin's small home quietly. Even though Ruffnut now lived with Snotlout, her husband, she spent most of her days with her brother. While the two fought endlessly when they were teens, the two's relationship stabled a great deal as they grew up. Slowly, the two realized that they were okay being Ruffnut-and-Tuffnut, two separate entities yet always connected. They had tried the whole solo thing once, ending a mess for both sides. After that, they decided they were much better off working as a team._

_"Hey, sis." Tuffnut replied, opening the door fully for the woman, wondering why she didn't just barge in as she normally would have. Not that he minded._

_"I uhm...need to talk to you." She said, looking solemnly towards the wooden floor. Tuffnut's eyes widened, shocked by his sister's behavior. She hadn't looked this upset since she nearly had to leave Scauldy at the hands of the Change-wings, broken wing and all._

_"I'm all ears." Tuffnut replied, seating her at the, also wooden, kitchen table. Tuffnut never had a lot in his home besides weapons, food, a bed, and that table. It wasn't like he was ever home anyway with all the training exercises and attacks by the Bezerkers on a daily basis. Thinking about it, he was surprised he still had the energy to move._

_"First, you have to promise me that you'll listen to me and not do or say anything until I'm finished." Ruffnut said, staring him dead in the eye. He could feel her gaze burning a hole through his very soul, and he wasn't about to push her far and end up fighting with her like they did when they were younger._

_"...I promise." Tuffnut replied, knowing he probably made a promise he couldn't keep._

_"Well, I went to Gothi today and I found something out...something that Snotlout wasn't too pleased about..." Ruffnut began, her voice trailing off as her husband's name rolled off her tongue._

_"Are you sick?" Tuffnut asked, suddenly feeling nauseous. What would he do if she was dying like their father had been? What if she had the same disease? He hardly lasted months..._

_"No, but..." She paused, her gaze downcast once again. Tuffnut allowed himself to sigh in relief, his breathing becoming much easier. "I'm..." A tear fell down her pale cheek, landing with a near silent splat on the floor. Tuffnut scooted closer, wiping the wetness left by the tear off his sister's cheek, then forcing her to look up at him._

_"You can tell me anything. You know that whatever you say I won't be angry, or upset, or disappointed. I'm not like I was when we were kids. I never want you to be afraid to tell me something." Tuffnut told her softly, reliving the terrible moment when his sister told him that when they were children, she had been afraid of him. He was her brother, he was supposed to protect her from the things that scared her, and she had been scared of him._

_"Hey," His sister said, her hand placed gently on his cheek as she forced him to look up from the floor. "the past is the past. We were both a little more than cruel to one another, so please, stop beating yourself up for something that happened years ago." She said. How did she end up comforting him when he was supposed to be comforting her?_

_"What were you going to tell me?" He asked quietly, his sister quickly pulling her hand from his cheek, her gaze finding itself back onto the kitchen floor. "Look at me." He said, the woman slowly complying._

_"I'm pregnant, Tuffnut." She said, fresh tears falling from her ice blue eyes. The male twin was more than a little shocked. He didn't have any kids of his own, not even a girlfriend, but he had always thought this was something that was supposed to be celebrated, not something to cry over._

_"Why is that a bad thing?" Tuffnut asked, wrapping his arms around his sister, the smaller of the two leaned into his strong arms, taking comfort in her brother's strong hold._

_"...Snotlout wasn't very pleased..." She replied quietly, more tears falling down her cheeks. Tuffnut's mouth fell open, his heart breaking for his sister. How could her own husband, the person who was supposed to love and care for her above all else, turn and run the second he found out he was going to have a child._

_"Maybe he just needs time-"_

_"Oh no, he made it clear as water that he wanted nothing to do with me or the baby. He told me that it was a-all my f-f-fault...T-that I r-r-ruined his l-life." She stuttered, her once silent tears now full blown sobs, her small frame shaking as she tried to hold them in. Tuffnut held her tighter, anger and sadness pooling in his stomach. When he gets his hands on Snotlout..._

_"I-it is my fault. I r-ruin everyt-thing."_

_"Don't ever say that, sis." Tuffnut interrupted her, the smaller looking up at him with shock. "Regardless of what Shitlout thinks or does, you know that I'll always be here for you. I'll be crazy uncle Tuffnut! They'll love me. I'll be like dad, you know, how he always took us out for hour long walks, let us sharpen his spears, snuck us sweets before dinner...Oh man your kid is going to love me. Bet you won't though!" The taller replied, earning a small giggle from his sister._

_"How am I supposed to take care of two kids on my own?" She asked. Tuffnut kissed his sister's forehead lightly, hugging her tightly._

_"You'll never have to do it alone." He said. Ruffnut nodded, snuggling more into her brother's hold._

_"I'm sorry for all the years we wasted fighting...we could have had-"_

_"It took all those years to get to this point, Tuff. I don't hold anything against you, do you against me?" She asked, not looking up to meet his gaze._

_"Of course not." He said simply. She smiled softly and yawned._

_"Then we're all good." She closed her eyes, finally allowing herself into a much needed slumber. Tuffnut sat still for several minutes, wanting to make sure his sister was fast asleep before lifting the girl into his arms and carrying her into his room. The eighteen year old laid her down gently and covered her with his only blanket. It wasn't much in the way of comfort, the yak fur more than a little itchy to the touch, but it was warm._

_Feeling confident that his sister would sleep soundly through the rest of the day, he grabbed the helmet he'd owned since he was a child and walked out the door._

_He had a few things to say to Snotlout._

* * *

_It was still early in the day, so he settled on trying the training arena first. He knew that if the shithead did happen to be there, then the two would have an audience and that's something that Tuffnut didn't want to deal with. He knew that the others would try to stop him from tearing the man's throat out, which while it was good for Snotlout, it wasn't good for whoever tried to stop him._

_He took a quick glance into the arena, seeing Astrid, Hiccup, Fishlegs, and Shitlout standing in a circle in the middle of the arena, probably wondering where he and Ruffnut were. Well, at least that question would be answered._

_Tuffnut walked silently into the arena, not ready to make a scene just yet. He wanted to know what Shitlout had to say about what happened with his sister first. All of his fellow dragon riders turned towards him, relief apparent in all of their faces except the source of his aggravation who looked away in near horror. He knew he was going to get pounded, and Tuffnut enjoyed it._

_"Where have you been!? We've been waiting for you for nearly an hour now and...where's Ruff?" Hiccup asked, looking outside the gate for his missing sister. Tuffnut brushed the question off._

_"She'll be here in a sec." He said, his tone no different than normal. He looked to his right to see Shitlout staring at him with wide eyes, probably wondering why he was still in one piece by this point._

_"Is she...okay?" Shitlout asked, his voice almost sounding concerned._

_"Yeah. Why wouldn't she be?" Tuffnut asked, shrugging his shoulders. If Shitlout could look anymore shocked, the taller twin couldn't even imagine it. It was nearly laughable how awful the man was at hiding his emotions._

_"Uhm, you seemed shocked, Snotlout." Hiccup voiced. Shitlout shook himself out of his little trance, crossing his arms and scoffing._

_"Shocked? About what? I knew she was okay, she is my wife after all." That did it. Every little piece of self control Tuffnut possessed evaporated and he found himself with a hand on the black haired man's throat, the other raised above his head ready to strike. The blonde could feel the fear radiating off of Shitlout, and he nearly laughed. Can't handle the consequences of your actions, huh Snotlout?_

_"You are so lucky I haven't beat you to a bloody pulp yet! How dare you?" Tuffnut said, his tone menacing enough that the three dragon riders not involved hadn't even attempted to intervene. "How sick, how evil could you be to walk out on the person you're supposed to love when she needs you most? How could you walk out on not only your wife, but your child?" The twin heard the collective gasps run through the three dragon riders behind him, but he payed no real attention to them._

_"How do I even know if it's mine? It's probably someone else's knowing your whore of a sis-" The black haired man didn't get to finish, as Tuffnut punched him hard enough to shatter his nose. This time, the other three did intervene but not in the way he had expected._

_"You are a sick, twisted man! You don't deserve Ruffnut or that child." Astrid shouted, her fists clenched at her sides._

_"I'd always known that you were self-absorbed and cocky, everyone did, but I never thought you would stoop so low." Hiccup nearly whispered, the brunette looking at Snotlout with disgust._

_"If you ever even think about calling her anything relating to what you just called her again, I swear on my life I will do exactly what Tuffnut just did times ten." Fishlegs spat, his fists white and shaking as he clenched them tightly. Tuffnut was shocked, only seeing Fishlegs get so angry once before when Snotlout refused to give the dragon's egg back to him so he could give it to the mother._

_"You had best not even show your face around her or that child again. I'm going to make sure that he doesn't know how much of a coward his father was...how much he hurt his mother...how he didn't love him enough to even consider raising him." Tuffnut said, walking towards the exit. Snotlout still lay on the cold ground, blood pouring from his nostrils as he pressed his now ruined shirt against his nose._

_None of them said a word as he left the arena._

* * *

_Past the weird cravings, Tuffnut couldn't say that Ruffnut was too difficult to take care of throughout her pregnancy. He had dealt with her mood swings since they were in diapers, so he wasn't ever extremely bothered by that. The most difficult thing to deal with by far was Snotlout's constant presence. Whenever he would go into town to get their rations for the week or new items for the baby from Gobber, Snotlout would always make a point of it to show off his new girlfriend, Heather._

_Tuffnut never thought he would see the girl again after they helped her save her parents, but low and behold, she turned up one day with news of her parents passing and a need for a place to call home. Snotlout had jumped on the chance to rub it in Ruffnut's face how much she wasn't needed anymore, taking in the black haired girl without hesitation. Not a week after, he "accidentally" caught them making out right next to Gobber's workshop at his scheduled arrival time. He was just glad Ruffnut hadn't come with him._

_Tuffnut knew that Snotlout didn't love Heather, didn't even like her. He was just using her to get into Ruffnut's head and the second he realized that he wasn't making the twin jealous, he would dump her like yesterday's garbage. Too bad he actually was hurting his sister with this stupid little stunt._

_A couple talks later, and Ruffnut began to feel much more confident in herself. Hiccup, Astrid, and Fishlegs made it a habit to come by everyday, no matter what mood his sister was in, just to show her that she had people who cared._

_Those nine months went by in the blink of an eye, and before he knew it, he was sat at his sister's bedside gazing down at the beautiful face of his niece. She wasn't a chubby baby by any means, and her head was full of blonde curls the exact shade of Ruffnut's. He didn't think he would ever forget the first time the small baby opened her eyes, revealing dark blue orbs just filled with mischief and curiosity. Their mother had pointed out that they mimicked the twin's eyes when they were first born. He knew she was going to be a little trouble maker like them, always breaking things and messing things up. Just part of the learning process he said._

_"She's staring at you." Ruffnut said, gazing down at the small bundle in her arms. Sure enough, the little girl was gazing at him with a gaze he would learn one day that was reserved only for him. Her "knight in shining armor" as she would say after hearing one too many fairy tales, courtesy of Fishlegs. He placed his rough, calloused hand on his niece's soft one, melting as the little one wrapped her fingers around his. Oh he was in serious trouble. This girl was only a couple minutes old and she already had him wrapped around her little finger._

* * *

Tuffnut smiled and lifted the small girl into his arms, hugging her tightly. Eira giggled loudly, enjoying the rush that came from her favorite uncle twirling her around in his arms. Finally he stood still, clutching the small blonde tightly to his chest. He wondered if Snotlout ever regretted his decision, because God knows that this girl was one of the main reasons he fought so hard to come home after every battle.

"Why don't I show you a place where me and your mommy used to spend lots of time when we were your age?" Tuffnut asked. Eira nodded her head ecstatically, always up for a new area to explorer. She hadn't turned into as bad of a trouble maker as the twins had been until they were practically adults, but she definitely had her moments. By this point, all sharp objects were kept far out of reach, anything glass was kept hidden, and she was kept far away from animals. Of course, even the twins had their moments and were happy to allow the young girl a few minutes of glee as she destroyed nearly everything Snotlout owned. Of course, her mother and uncle had a hand in the destruction as well. Too much to resist.

The two walked for a couple minutes more, stopping in front of the familiar entrance to the cave he and his sister had spent the most time in when they were younger, then unknowingly claiming it as their own when they were teenagers.

"What's so special about a cave?" She asked. Tuffnut could never tell if her snarky attitude came from Snotlout or Ruffnut, but he always settled on Ruffnut.

"Ah this isn't just any cave. This, is our soggy alone place!" Tuffnut said, laughing at the confused look his niece gave him. "This is where me and your mom came when we just wanted to get away." The tallest twin said, gazing around the forever unchanged structure of their cave. The memories that it held...

"You could play really awesome hide-and-go-seek in here!" She said, clearly excited by the idea. He chuckled softly, setting the five year old down as she went to investigate. He had lots to teach her, but first things first, the game is not called hide-and-go-seek.

It's hide-and-go-kill.

**Please review and tell me what you think. If I get enough reviews asking, I might make more one-shots based on Eira and the twins!(: Just tell me what you want to see. Like, maybe her first time riding on Barf and Belch or when she gets her own dragon...you know, whatever! **


End file.
